Yunmeng County, at the confluence of the Three Rivers, is not the largest among the eighty-eight counties in the ten states under the jurisdiction of the Great Chu Empire. However, due to its fertile land, land and water thoroughfares, and prosperous trade, it has become an important agricultural and commercial area within the empire.
An important town where gatherings and trade flourish.
Once a place becomes prosperous, it is inevitable that forces will surge and secret wars will become common. There are many wealthy families in Yunmeng City, and the forces are complicated. The largest among them are the Lu Mansion in the east of the city and the Yan Mansion in the west of the city.
The Yan family is a new wealthy family that has only risen in recent decades. The owner’s origin is mysterious and he controls most of the local bodyguards, docks, shipping and underground bank businesses. Therefore, some people speculate that this family is related to the green forest thieves or even rebels.
The military has a lot to do with it.
The Lu Mansion is a local hereditary wealthy family. Its ancestors were the founding fathers of the Chu Empire. In the past, they followed Emperor Taizu to found the country through hundreds of battles. They made many meritorious deeds and were awarded the title of Righteous and Brave Marquis.
The Lu family's sons have been advocating martial arts from generation to generation due to their father's status. Over the past four hundred years, there have indeed been many talents and the family has prospered.
The Lu Mansion is large in scale. The palace buildings alone cover an area of hundreds of acres. There are many palaces and pavilions in the mansion, deep alleys and courtyards, and hordes of servants. However, light and darkness always go hand in hand in this world. No matter how gorgeous the palace is, there are also
Even in the musty corners; no matter how glamorous a wealthy family, there are also helpless and sad people.
Lu Zhan was this sad person. His father, Lu Tonghui, was assassinated seven days ago and was seriously injured. He died within half a day.
Although Lu Tonghui's surname is Lu, he is only a collateral relative of the Lu family. His status in the Lu family is low, almost equivalent to that of a general handyman. He usually does some kitchen chores in the Lu family, and his salary is not high. His wife died early, and his only
His son Lu Zhan is not yet fifteen years old. He is studying in a school in Zhendong and helps his father with some chores around the house.
Although Lu Zhan is smart and has a good character, he is not directly related to the Lu family, and his family background is poor, and he has been physically weak since he was a child. As a result, he has been depressed and unable to practice martial arts like other core relatives of the Lu family.
Achievements.
In addition, now that his only relative has suddenly passed away, he has become a helpless and miserable person. How can we not make him sad?
Because his family was not well off, he did not do any religious rituals. After the Seventh Dynasty, Lu Zhan had his father buried hastily.
On the day of the funeral, Lu Zhan stood beside his father's grave with a sad heart. Lu Tonghui didn't have many friends during his lifetime, and those who came to the funeral were only servants who were familiar with each other in the mansion.
The grave was a little deserted. Recalling his father's voice, smile, words and deeds during his lifetime, Lu Zhan fell into deep sorrow. People who came to mourn him came to the grave one after another to pay their respects in silence.
At this time, I saw two men wearing Lu Mansion uniforms walking over quickly. The two men looked arrogant. Even when they walked to the grave, they took long strides and held their chests high. They had no scruples about the need to remain solemn in such an occasion.
Solemn etiquette.
The person walking in front is about thirty years old, with a short and stocky build and a square face. The person following behind is younger and has a very tough appearance, with a ferocious look in his eyes that makes people look at him.
The people who came to the funeral were all low-status servants of the Lu family. When they saw these two people, they all stepped aside respectfully and bowed their heads. The middle-aged man standing next to Lu Zhan was Uncle Ding, Lu Tonghui's good friend during his lifetime. He bowed his head.
Sheng told Lu Zhan: "The person walking in front is Liu Dingguo, who is the nephew of Liu Dagu, the third manager of the inner palace. The person following behind is named He Feng, and he is the leader of one of the teams in the Lu family's nursing hall."
Lu Zhan raised his head and looked at the two people.
He had long heard that the guards in the Lu Mansion were full of accomplished martial arts masters. It was said that some of them could tear apart a strong bull with bare hands and fly over walls. He had always been fascinated by these martial arts masters who came and went.
Shu is very curious and wonders what is the difference between people who practice martial arts and normal people.
Now that there was an expert walking so close to him, it was no wonder that he looked at the head of the nursing home named He Feng with curious eyes.
Sure enough, He Feng's temperament is indeed a bit different. His eyes are particularly sharp, as if he can grasp your heart just by his eyes. He walks with a dragon's pace and a horse's stride, which makes him appear very courageous.
Liu Dingguo, who was walking in front of He Feng, was more imposing than him, and his martial arts skills seemed to be even better than that of He Feng.
When the two of them walked up to Lu Zhan, Liu Dingguo shouted arrogantly: "Hey, are you Lu Tonghui's son?"
Lu Zhan nodded, looking confused.
Liu Dingguo sneered, took out two ingots of silver and threw them to him: "Here, these ten taels of silver were awarded to you by our steward Liu, and they are regarded as pensions from the Lu family."
Lu Zhan silently took the money.
After Liu Dingguo handed over the money, he waited with his head held high, but did not wait until Lu Zhan lowered his eyebrows and bowed in thanks;
This made him very angry. He raised his eyebrows and glared at Lu Zhan and said: "You little brat, do you know etiquette? I rewarded you with money, and you can't even say thank you. Don't you, your damn dad, usually just say "thank you"?
Haven’t I taught you the principle of superiority and inferiority?”
Although Lu Zhan is younger than him, he is almost as tall as him.
He looked at the other party with a very calm look. Although he did not have the strength to scold these guys who ignored the occasion and were extremely rude in front of his father's new grave, he still had to make himself neither humble nor arrogant, and not to be incompetent.
Losing the face of my late father.
"My destiny is up to me! - You may be much stronger than me, but I will fight to the death, and I will never be despised, insulted or even manipulated to control my destiny!" - All the time
This has always been the strongest belief in Lu Zhan's heart, and it is also the source of motivation for him to work hard even though he is at the bottom of Lu Mansion.
Lu Zhan has been bullied since he was a child, and he has a little bit of aloofness and paranoia. He also has a young mentality, dares to do things, and moves forward courageously, and sometimes he does things without caring about the consequences.
Uncle Ding, who was standing next to Lu Zhan, saw this and quickly bowed and said: "Uncle Liu, please calm down. He is a young child who is not sensible. In addition, his father has just been buried and his mind is confused. Please forgive me."
Liu Dingguo snorted angrily and was about to scold him. He Feng behind him said softly: "Brother Liu, don't act like a child. It's more important to do business."
Liu Dingguo's eyes flashed and he nodded. His tone softened slightly and he asked Lu Zhan: "Boy, did your father say anything to you before he died?"
Lu Zhan shook his head.
"Did you really not say anything?" Liu Dingguo asked: "Our Nursing Hall is looking for the murderer of your father. It is said that your father was seriously injured and was still alive after escaping home. Didn't he tell you about the murderer?
Any clues?"
Lu Zhan's heart fluctuated for a moment, but he still bit his lip and shook his head. In fact, his father did say some words before he died, but he felt there was no need to tell these words to this brutal and rude guy in front of him.
Liu Dingguo and He Feng looked at each other. Since they couldn't get anything out of this little guy's mouth, it would be boring for them to stay any longer, so they sneered twice and quickly left the cemetery.
Although Lu Tonghui did not make any outstanding contributions in his life, he was still one of the side relatives of the Lu family and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Lu family. However, during the funeral after his death, not one of the masterminds of the Lu family was shown. Only Liu Dingguo, who was in charge of external affairs, was sent to accompany him.
Ten taels of silver were given as a pension. This shows the cold heart of the Lu family, which makes people feel cold.
It was already autumn, and there was a chill in the slanting wind. The paper flags on the graves were lifted high by the west wind, making a hunting sound.
Lu Zhan shuddered and woke up from the grief. He saw that the incense candles in front of the grave were about to burn out, the sky was getting dark, and the mourners had dispersed into the slowly falling night. Only Uncle Ding was still with him.
.
He asked Uncle Ding: "Uncle, do you think the Nursing Hall will really investigate the murderer of my father?"
"This..." Uncle Ding hesitated for a moment and thought it would be better to tell him the truth and let him recognize the reality.
"I don't think so. Your father is an inconspicuous person in the Lu family. The world is so chaotic now, and people are dying every day. The nursing hall is only responsible for the safety of noble people in the family. How can your father's life and death be considered?
In the eyes of these gentlemen and ladies." As he spoke, he held Lu Zhan's shoulders and said, "My child, it's getting late, go back."
Lu Zhan nodded and followed Uncle Ding towards Lu Mansion. On the way, he asked again: "Uncle Ding, since the Nursing Hall doesn't want to interfere with my father's affairs, why did he care about what my father said before he died?
What are you talking about? Do they have ulterior motives?"
Uncle Ding suddenly stopped. He turned around and looked solemnly into Lu Zhan's eyes: "Did your father really say anything to you before he died?"
"I did say something, but I couldn't understand it."
"What did he say?"
"He told me not to avenge him and to leave here quickly. I don't know what he meant."
Uncle Ding lowered his head, bit his lip and thought for a while, then said in a low tone: "Your father is right, he wants to warn you that it is dangerous to stay here in Lu Mansion. Xiao Zhan, you must listen to him and leave immediately.
It’s best to leave tonight.”
"No, I won't leave, I have to avenge my father!" Lu Zhan replied firmly.
"But you can't afford to offend his murderer," Uncle Ding looked at him and said, "Let alone revenge, even the slightest thought will lead to death."
Lu Zhan's heart moved, he stared at Uncle Ding and asked, "Uncle, do you know who killed my father?"
Uncle Ding's body was stiff, his eyes were flickering, and he was obviously engaged in a fierce psychological struggle. Lu Zhan shook his arm and said, "Uncle Ding, you must know something hidden. Please, for my father's sake, tell me why.
?”
Uncle Ding hesitated for a long time and finally said: "Okay, I say, but Xiao Zhan, you have to promise me not to tell you what I told you. After all, it is related to the lives of your family and mine. If you can't do it,
My whole family will suffer."
"Okay, uncle, I promise you that I will never tell you."
Uncle Ding looked around to make sure there was no one around, then lowered his voice and said, "Your father seemed to have seen some things he shouldn't have seen two days before his death, so he seemed particularly panicked."
Lu Zhan asked curiously: "Something I shouldn't see? What is it?"
Uncle Ding shook his head and said: "I don't know. I asked your father, but he refused to say it clearly. He only said that he had been dealing with a few evil ghost-like things before. From that tone, it seemed that he was also dealing with someone in the house.
Related to high-level figures. Seven days ago in the morning, your father and I were discussing the purchase of items in the kitchen. At this time, a small leader of the nursing hall, the guy named He Feng who came just now, asked your father to go out with him to do errands.
.Your father went out with him and never came back, and the news of your father’s death came that night.”
Lu Zhan gritted his teeth, "So, that He Feng is probably the murderer of my father?"
"I'm not sure. I can only say that he is the most suspicious, and just now he was particularly concerned about what your father said to you before he died. This is enough to explain some problems." Uncle Ding guessed: "I miss you.
Dad's death must be related to something that shouldn't be seen. They are killing people and silencing them."
Lu Zhan clenched his fists and his knuckles made a "pop" sound.
Green novels. Book lovers are welcome to come and read. The latest, fastest and most popular serial works are all original in Qidian!
{Piaotian Literature www.ptwxz.com thanks all book friends for their support, your support is our biggest motivation}